I didn’t plan on publishing a book–or in this case a series of six books–on my own. But having tried for many months to get a traditional publisher to take “What Do Toes Do?”, I got discouraged and asked my husband what I should do. He said, “Why don’t you publish it yourself?” I instantly thought of a whole list of reasons why I didn’t want to do this, but over time I decided it was worth a try.
I founded Salt Cove Publications, found an illustrator from Indonesia, discovered that one of my local librarians is a good editor, and “What Do Toes Do?” was born. The first in a series of six board books, “What Do Toes Do?” captures babies’ delight in discovering their own toes. With the help of a Kickstarter campaign, I plan to give away at least half of the print run–that’s 270 books! I’ve already lined up a delivery of my books to a NICU unit at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA, and am meeting with a local nonprofit organization, “Read to Grow”, whose mission is “To promote language skills and literacy for children, beginning at birth, and to support families as their babies’ first teachers.”
I’ve also started booking Story Time at libraries so I can read my new book to babies and toddlers. And yes, my book will be for sale in bookstores and online, too, and I’m available for speaking events including bookclubs, writers workshops, and publishing forums.
I’ve had three books published by major publishing companies and that was exciting. But I have to say, this is really special because it’s been a collaborative process with so much help along the way. I can’t wait to get to work on the next one which might be “What Does Your Nose Do?” Stay tuned!
Please check out my Kickstarter pre-launch page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1737438770/what-do-toes-do. My campaign to raise $3,200 in 30 days starts on September 25th.
